Divinity, Book One: Wrath of the Gods
by atmawpn
Summary: Book One of the Divinity trilogy - an overhaul of Homeworld2: Wrath of the Gods. "First steps to something greater, and so begins the journey anew."
1. Prologue: After the End Time

**DIVINITY – BOOK ONE: WRATH OF THE GODS**

**PROLOGUE: AFTER THE END TIME

* * *

**

_The impossible – Seven Crusades under a single unified banner. The unthinkable – the advent of the Third Hyperspace Core. The End Time – a time of prophecy and great bloodshed. Wielding the power of the Ancients, the Vaygr warlord Makaan conquered all that dared stand against his might._

_The Taiidan Republic, already weakened by decades of civil war, was among the first of the Council powers to fall. In a state of decay not dissimilar to the Empire of old, many corrupt politicians defected to the Warriors of the Fringe, taking with them star systems of strategic value. The few Taiidani loyal enough to remain would be mercilessly slaughtered at Makaan's hand._

_The Bentusi would have survived this, but their numbers had never recovered from the Beast Exodus. They too fell, their tradeships overwhelmed by sheer superiority in numbers and, for the first terrifying time in their history, technology. The sole survivor of this holocaust would be their great Harbor Ship of _Bentus_ – discoverer of the First Great Core._

_Even the ones touched by Destiny's hand did not go unmolested by the fires of war. Karan fled, the Homeworld fell, and the Hiigarans became Exiles again.  
_

_But one hope remained._

_Wielding the Second Core and the symbol of salvation, the _Pride of Hiigara_, Karan held Makaan's minions at bay while she led her people across the Galaxy. Secrets would be unlocked, truths be told, sacrifices made. In the climactic Battle of Balcora, Makaan fell and Karan became the Sajuuk Khar._

_It was then that the _Eye of Aaraan_ was discovered, uniting the Galaxy in peace as the First Core once did and heralding the arrival of the Age of Sjet. However, the Turanic Raiders have absorbed many Taiidani since the fall of the old Empire and the recent conquest of the Republic. No longer just a ragtag pirate force, they now constitute a high-level threat to Hiigara itself._

_Having forseen this, Karan Sjet had hence given orders for the original Mothership, _01_, to be given a massive overhaul. When complete, it would be in the same league as the _Pride of Hiigara_, ready to lead the Hiigarans to victory again._

_In remembrance of the tragic Kharakian genocide, _01_ would be dubbed the _Legacy of Kharak_._

_And so the Exiles believed that peace was secured at last. Little did they know that more was yet to come…_

* * *

"Sensor sweeps showing up nothing, as usual," came the bored reply, "This is an utter waste of time."

"Quit your complaining ensign," the voice of authority barked from somewhere in the dimly-lit bridge, "And don't you even think of skipping any sectors! If I find out…"

"Yeah yeah, charges and treason and brig and all that," the ensign muttered as he tapped away lazily on the sensors console, _Strategic importance my ass – _Bravo II_'s nothing but an old waste heap in the middle of Sajuuk knows where!_

To an extent the junior crewman was right – Hiigaran inhibitor stations were sparsely equipped bases whose sole purpose was to restrict unauthorized jumps into Hiigaran space. Any lack of amenities was, in the words of High Command, "Unfortunate but optimum in terms of cost-benefit." Still, recent concerns in the Daiamid over maintaining high levels of troop morale had pushed High Command to grudgingly include recreation modules in the more recent station designs.

_Bravo II_ unfortunately had none of these, being a first generation station that was more a set of command and hangar modules glued hastily onto an ageing inhibitor frame dating from the Imperial era.

_Ah to hell with this – not like the old man's going to notice anything,_ the ensign thought to himself as he swiveled his seat around to face his ageing superior – a cranky old officer who had seen better days during the legendary Dust Wars of old, "All clear."

"You sure?"

"Even the asteroids are still in the bloody same place, if that's what you're asking," the ensign was rolling his eyes in exasperation now.

"…Very well then. Dismissed!" the commander snapped, taking a swig from his trusty bottle as he stared aimlessly at the twin stars of Coruc and Tel. Looking at them always made him feel strange – as though he were seeing hyperspace from the perspective of normal space. The medics would always dismiss it as a side effect of the prevalent quantum irregularities in the system.

_Damned anomalies…_

He took another mouthful and glanced up again, blinking when he saw the familiar metallic glint of a ship in the yellow glare of the stars.


	2. First Move

**DIVINITY – BOOK ONE: WRATH OF THE GODS**

**CHAPTER 1: FIRST MOVE

* * *

**

Fusion drives blazing, the sleek Acolyte-class variant neared its designated target – an empty frigate shell. As all sensors in the region focused their attention on the strike craft, Kiir Sjet couldn't help but squirm at the butterflies going crazy in his innards. He glanced nervously at the Somtaaw general beside him, who noticed and responded with a reassuring nod.

"_All safeties in the green,"_ the voice of Tanis base's flight controller echoed from the internal broadcast system, _"Pilot, you are cleared for weapons testing."_

"_Roger that."_

_This is it_, Kiir thought, _The future of Light Sword depends on this one._

For Light Sword, as the project had been codenamed, had occupied a good deal of the young Hiigaran's past five months. An ambitious endeavour following quickly on the heels of his pioneering breakthrough in hyperspace physics, the project sought to replicate the deadly Bentusi Ion Fighter for Hiigaran use. If he succeeded this time, then perhaps the stalemate with the Turanic kingdoms would be broken at long last.

"_Target is within range, shunting power to crystal conduits now."_

"_Roger that pilot, you may fire at will."_

All eyes aboard Tanis Memorial Base watched as a pair of ion beams lashed out from the Acolyte, burning into the target hull and crackling an angry yellow. Within moments, the beams reached the scaled-down reactor inside and turned the frigate into a blazing inferno of drive plasma.

"_I don't believe it – weapons output is at 100%, all systems nominal!"_ the pilot reported triumphantly, causing Tanis Base to erupt in celebration. Yet Kiir remained motionless, staring intently at the scene in space.

"_Tanis Control to pilot, good work. Return to base immediately."_

"_Roger that Tanis Control, returning to…"_ there was a pause. Kiir turned away from the viewscreen immediately, as if he knew what was coming next.

"…_Mayday mayday, crystal conduits have begun chain reaction! Ejec…"_

The transmission ended as a harsh silence fell over the once-celebratory crowd of observers. From the corner of his eye, Kiir saw a sphere of ionic energy where the Acolyte once was. Sinking back into his seat, he remained oblivious to the fluster of frantic activity that erupted as quickly as the silence had come.

"…_We have a lifesign!" _Tanis Control was ecstatic at the sudden and miraculous discovery, _"Ejection was successful I repeat, ejection successful! Rescue teams, scramble!"_

Kiir began panting on hearing the incredible news, compensating for the breaths he'd forgotten to take since the pause. Feeling a pat on his shoulder, he swiveled around to face General Qwaar Somtaaw.

"I would ask you not to take this too hard Kiir," Qwaar reassured the scientist, "After all, that there were no fatalities this time is certainly…"

"…an improvement?" Kiir managed a weak smile, "So we conveniently forget about the previous deaths then?"

"Failures are but commonplace in the realm of research, and sacrifices are sometimes… inevitable. Surely you remember what we Somtaaw had to go through during our own R&D projects?"

"But still…"

"Enough of the self-reproach – perhaps a hiatus from Light Sword would do you some good," the general interrupted firmly, "I've new orders from Karan herself. She expresses gratitude for your efforts in Light Sword, but regrets that you will need to be posted temporarily to another project."

"With all due respect…"

"I'll have you know the hiatus was her idea," Qwaar cut the scientist off again, "And this being a direct order from her I'm not sure it's something you can outright refuse. Now you will listen quietly to the rest of what I have to convey. Understood?"

Sighing slightly, Kiir could only nod meekly at the Somtaaw officer.

"Good," Qwaar continued, "Karan's initial survey of the _Eye of Aaraan_ revealed several gates leading to other galaxies. One of these gates, 112A, has been identified for further study. She wishes you to join the Naabal carrier _Exile_ in its expedition."

"I presume I am to depart immediately?"

"As soon as possible, yes," the general answered, "Hopefully this will not inconvenience you too much – but you have about an hour to pack before _Exile_ arrives to pick you up."

"I can't complain, can I?" Kiir sighed again as he got up from his seat, "Thank you for your concern, General."

"And you take care out there," Qwaar shook the scientist's hand firmly as he saw him to the door, "I still want my ion fighters eventually, by hook or by crook!"

* * *

"Eefrit, you have to calm down," Soban began, "Engineering always has the final say, and you know that."

"Soban, this thing has been delayed for two weeks already," countered the admiral of the Hiigaran Navy, "We're way behind schedule, and I doubt Karan is going to like this."

"Well even if she doesn't she's still bound by Fleet Protocol. And if you think you've got problems that what about my ship…"

"By 'your ship' you really mean the Progenitor Dreadnaught," Eefrit answered drily, "And you know full well that any problems with that thing are completely within expectation. _Legacy_, on the other hand, isn't several millennia old, or even built with Ancient technology!"

"Well…" Soban tried to counter, but decided otherwise when he considered the validity of Eefrit's statement. The _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_ had, along with its big brother _Sajuuk_, eaten a good deal of the Hiigaran Navy's resources in R&D – much to the displeasure of the non-warrior Kiithid. The fact that the Dreadnaught was designed around largely unheard-of concepts didn't help matters either, causing countless problems with repairs and general maintenance. Still, several breakthroughs had been made, including the discovery of the ship's energy shielding and phasing systems.

"_I think it would help if you stopped complaining so much,"_ a female voice echoed suddenly through the corridor, _"Breathing down the repair crews' necks is only going to freak them out."_

"I asked for an ETA on successful launch – not a counseling session," Eefrit grumbled as he walked onto the _Second Scaffold_'s viewing gallery, which boasted a spectacular view of Hiigara itself and the proud mothership _Legacy of Kharak_, "And do you mind showing yourself, Yuno?"

"_If you insist, _Admiral_,"_ came the exasperated reply as the hologram of a female researcher shimmered into plain view.

"Yuno Manaan reporting launch ETA, _sir_," the avatar began, "Latest estimates put it at eighteen hours from now."

"So the repair crews finally get my point," Eefrit declared, "About damn time too. Yuno, start running pre-launch procedures."

"Whatever you say, _sir_," the Manaani acknowledged grudgingly as she flickered away into nothingness.

"Quite a woman you've got there," Soban was grinning after hearing the verbal exchange.

"Real thing would be far worse I reckon," the admiral chuckled then sighed, "Amazing but sad, every time I think about it…"

"Some rapid cancer, I heard?"

"Not a pleasant one, that much I'm sure of," came the reply, "If not for her own research into mind-machine uploading…"

It was then that the communicators of both officers began beeping. Whipping out the palm-sized gadgets from their pockets, the two friends stared incredulously at the messages displayed on the screens.

"_Admiral, Intel reports that a Turanic Raider fleet has just emerged from hyperspace in the Coruc-Tel system,"_ Yuno's voice came in over the _Second Scaffold_'s broadcast system, _"They were halted by the resident hyperspace inhibitor, but the inhibitor station reports that reinforcements are badly needed."_

"If capital ships are involved then…"

"I'll go," Soban offered immediately, "We've been waiting for a good time to test the _Gatekeeper_'s new systems, haven't we?"

"So it is," Eefrit agreed, "Still, don't get careless out there."

"You worry too much old friend," Soban grinned as he took off towards the docking bays.

* * *

"Welcome aboard the _Exile_," the Nabaal officer greeted warmly, "I am Commander Hyll and it is an honour to have a distinguished scientist such as yourself on board."

"You flatter me Commander," Kiir replied politely.

"My First Officer will show you to your quarters," Hyll continued lightly, "I regret the absence of certain luxuries as this is a military vessel. However, I will see to it that your stay is a pleasant one. Now if you will excuse me, I have matters on the bridge that await my attention."

"Thank you sir."

As Kiir walked down the metallic corridors of the carrier, he wondered what mysteries would exist beyond that gate. Yet, he still could not put the deaths behind him. While the pilot from earlier was reported to be in a stable condition after his rescue, it did nothing to soften the impact of the previous fatalities.

The officer left Kiir to the privacy of his room, which was exactly as the Commander had described – basic amenities only. There was some attempt at luxury with the presence of a hand-carved wooden table and an artist's impression of _Sajuuk_. The room was otherwise simple in layout.

_Nothing to do but wait,_ he thought as he lay down on the cramped military-style bed, _Maybe what I need is a good rest._

His eyes closing, he was barely able to catch the echoing countdown announcement before slumber overtook his exhausted mind.

"_Synchronised hyperspace jump in T-minus ten seconds…"_


	3. Development

**DIVINITY – BOOK ONE: WRATH OF THE GODS**

**CHAPTER 2: DEVELOPMENT

* * *

**

_The Coruc-Tel System orbits the stars Coruc and Tel respectively. Being a binary system, the objects in this region of space transit via bizarre orbits due to the inexplicable movement of the two stars. Tel does not orbit in a circular fashion, instead it wobbles around Coruc in a seemingly random orbit. As such, Tel's distance from Coruc can range from anywhere between sixty-five million kilometres to two billion kilometres at any one time. Furthermore, Tel never stays in one plane of movement for more than sixty hours at a time. This has resulted in the formation of unique asteroid belts that weave in and out between the stars and the planets in the system, like fighters manoeuvring around capital ships._

_However, such object movement does not warrant the deployment of a science vessel. It was the presence of certain quantum waveform irregularities that attracted the _Clee San's _attention. Regrettably, the doomed Somtaaw ship was unable to complete its analysis, owing to the arrival of the Beast wars that claimed the_ Clee San _as its second victim._

_Hiigaran Fleet Command maintains an inhibitor station in the Coruc-Tel System for various reasons. The most obvious ones were Coruc-Tel's strategic location in Hiigaran space and resource-rich asteroid belts. The lesser-known factors were the unexplained quantum waveform irregularities that somehow amplified the effectiveness of the inhibitor field. Though the navy's general perception of this region in space has been "safe", what they do not know about is Fleet Command's hushing up of several unexplained ship disappearances over the years._

* * *

The light from Coruc shimmered briefly as the quantum wavefront opened in the fabric of space time. Slowly but steadily, the Hiigaran carrier fleet emerged from hyperspace along with the awe-inspiring Progenitor Dreadnaught _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_.

"Hyperspace jump complete, Captain Soban," Sora Paktu reported from his position at the helm console, "We are off-target by twenty-three kilometers. Must've been the quantum anomalies in the region."

"Off-target or not, that station needs our help ASAP," Soban declared, "Status of our sister fleet?"

"_Sabre_ reports full system functionality," came the reply from Eliir Sjet, the _Gatekeeper_'s sensors and communications officer, "They are requesting permission to scramble strike craft squadrons."

"Granted," Soban answered quickly, "And inform the _Sabre_'s commander to prep for immediate micro-jump to _Bravo II_."

Within moments, the _Sabre_ let loose its full complement of interceptors and gunships, the nimble craft assembling into their respective squad formations before dashing to rescue the stricken station in the distance.

"Hyperdrive fully charged sir," Sora announced, "_Sabre_ and her fleet have fallen into formation as well."

"Alright – take us in!"

The Hiigaran fleet vanished into hyperspace once again, re-emerging in front of the inhibitor station seconds latear. As the sight of the frantic battle filled the entirety of the Dreadnaught's main viewscreen, the true plight of station became fully apparent.

_Bravo II_ had lost almost all fighter cover and its sole surviving destroyer was already in its death throes, beset from all sides by a sizeable force of Raider frigates. If not for the timely intervention and distraction posed by the _Sabre_'s own strike craft swarm, the station would no doubt have fallen prey to the continual waves of boarding corvettes.

"Qwaardammit, what just happened here," Soban cursed as klaxons began wailing throughout the ship, "Aalcor?"

"Fourth generation Assassin ion pulse frigates, twelve remaining," the Manaani tactical officer answered, "It is probably the only reason they were even able to overwhelm the destroyer squadron. Captain, you would be advised to not take them lightly – even with our Dreadnaught."

"Assassin IVs…" Soban muttered on hearing the report. Sightings and rumours since the Battle of Hiigara had led Fleet Intel to point to the existence of a new breed of ion array frigate – one that focused the already-destructive power of an ion beam into an even more devastating packet of ionic energy, essentially turning the frigate into an oversized bomber. As individual vessels they could certainly defeat other anti-capital frigates, and in small groups theoretically overwhelm even battlecruiser-class warships.

"Captain, I've located the Raider command carrier – it's right behind the inhibitor station," Eliir reported, "Quantum anomalies prevented an earlier detection."

"Lord II class," added Aalcor as he studied the readings, "But with some… structural differences."

"Take out the leader and the Raiders fall apart," Soban smiled, "Get me a PCA solution on that carrier now!"

A dull roar reverberated through the superstructure as the Dreadnaught's massive drives came online, pushing the Progenitor ship towards the inhibitor station. As the dying destroyer vanished in a brilliant explosion, the Assassins steered quickly to target their next prey – the advancing _Gatekeeper_. Before they could fire however, the cerulean swords of the _Sabre_'s ion frigates lashed at their flanks, gutting three of the ships and disabling a fourth.

"_Sabre_'s fleet has engaged the Assassins," Eliir updated, "They have also gained the advantage in the strike craft arena."

"Leaving just their centre of operations," Soban stared intently at the looming carrier, "How much time?"

"Fifteen seconds to a firing solution," Aalcor responded, "Initiating phased cannon array charge sequence."

What was originally a battle in the Raiders' favour had too suddenly been turned to the Hiigarans' advantage with the _Sabre_'s fleet conducting mop up operations against the station's attackers. Meanwhile, the Dreadnaught closed the distance with the carrier, its plasma turret belching at the Lord II's escort frigates and reducing the ships to heaps of molten metal with just a few calculated bursts. Remaining defiant to the bitter end, the carrier opened fire with its ion beams, the aqua energy beams leaping across the vacuum of space to leave light scorches on the warship's toughened armour.

"Captain, target is within firing range," announced Aalcor, "Phased cannon array is charged and ready."

Before Soban could give the order however, the communications channel crackled to life with a suddenness that startled slightly even the experienced Eliir.

"… _Captain Soban! This is _Bravo II! _This is a trap! Do not engage the Raider carrier!"_

"A trap?"

"Registering missile launches from the carrier…" Eliir updated, recovering quickly from her little shock, only to receive yet another, "… Kiith's blood they have Beast signatures!"

"Intercept in five seconds!" Aalcor exclaimed as well, his usually calm demeanor shaken by the startling revelation.

And then the missiles exploded against the Dreadnaught, unleashing their infectious potential on the ship in several flares of light. Only with the dissipation of the explosions did the Raiders realize the utter failure of their attack – for the _Gatekeeper_ was now enveloped by a protective layer of vermillion light. This was the same shield technology that rendered Progenitor ships virtually invincible to attacks by the _Pride of Hiigara_ and her fleet.

"Thank Sajuuk they repaired the shields on this thing," Soban heaved a considerable sigh of relief, "Now finish them!"

At first, nothing happened. Then, the sides of the Dreadnaught began to glow yellow with ever-increasing magnitude as energy poured to the front of the ship. Just as the brightness reached a maximum, the _Gatekeeper_ shuddered and recoiled to the rear partially as all that energy leapt forward in a blinding lance of light. The golden beam pierced the carrier like a needle going through cloth, melting through its superstructure with disturbing ease. Then the beam faded and the carrier detonated with tremendous force, all of which was absorbed silently by the _Gatekeeper_'s energy shielding.

"Confirming the destruction of the Raider carrier," Aalcor announced calmly, "The remaining Raider forces are retreating."

"Wait – I'm picking up sensor ghosts," Eliir warned as she double-checked the readings she was getting, "Two contacts decloaking behind us! Qwaar Jet II class heavy cruisers!"

"Evasive action!" Soban hollered as a fresh salvo of ion beams and plasma bombs rained upon the _Gatekeeper_, sending shudders throughout the warship's hull. But the energy shields were clearly made of sterner stuff, holding up effortlessly despite the fireworks display from the two cruisers.

"Turn us around and ready the PCA for firing again. Damage report?"

"Shield grid is nominal and ship systems are in the green," came the tactical officer's reply, "The Raiders' attacks pose no threat to us while the energy shields are up."

"I wish I could say the same for the inhibitor station," Eliir mentioned in a slightly quavering voice as she pointed at the viewscreen.

The Dreadnaught's bridge fell silent as the scene unfolded – another carrier had decloaked amidst the heat of battle and succeeded in its grim purpose. The familiar crimson-black tendrils of the Beast now stretched and spread quickly to cover the entirety of the station, assimilating all aboard into its twisted immortality. The only comfort was that Eliir had made sure to mute the communications channel with _Bravo II_ so that they may all be spared the horrific cries and screams of agony that no sane Hiigaran wanted to hear again.

"… Pass the message along to the _Sabre_ and her fleet - all ships are to stay clear of the station until we can ascertain the presence or absence of infection beam weaponry." Soban managed to say after forcing himself to look away from the horror before them, "Do we have a…"

Whereupon the _Gatekeeper_ shuddered with a violence that nearly threw the captain out of his seat.

"… the hell was that?"

"Picking up additional quantum waveform anomalies developing in our immediate vicinity," Eliir warned, "We should be expecting turbulence for the duration."

"Brilliant timing," Soban uttered under his breath, "Aalcor?"

"Firing solution achieved, PCA at full charge."

Soban nodded and the Ancient weapon fired again, the lance of golden light leaping forward to impale one of the offending cruisers. The beam touched its target and a frantic warbling filled the bridge as the hyperspace NAV computer went completely bonkers. Before anyone could react a fresh wave of tremors gripped the vessel, forcing the bridge crew to grab their consoles for support.

"Hyperspace signatures! Multiple!" Sora yelled at Soban after a quick glance at the NAV screen.

"No, those aren't ships out there," Eliir disagreed as she tried to make sense of the ship's sensors.

"Then what the hell are they?" Soban demanded as a powerful jolt threw him forward in his seat, nearly tearing apart the straps that held him in place.

"… by Sajuuk, we're being dragged into hyperspace!"

"Emergency override, distress protocols!"

But it was too late. The _Sabre _and her fleet could only watch in horror as the _Gatekeeper_ and the surviving heavy cruiser were engulfed by the energetic fury of a newly-opened hyperspace rift.

* * *

Stepping onto the bridge of an Imperator class for the first time, Kiir was immediately overwhelmed by the flurry of activity taking place in the carrier's command centre. Senior officers pored over deployment plans and charts at the fleet tactics section, while ensigns intercepted and handled communiqués coming in from other ships in the fleet.

The bridge itself was spacious yet functional in its design and layout. The various stations were positioned close enough for the officers to cooperate without having to yell at each other, yet far apart for individuals to work without distraction. This was definitely luxurious in comparison with the previous generations in the Imperator line, where the bridge was supposedly a "claustrophobic nightmare" according to the texts he had read.

"_All hands stand by for hyperspace exit at Gate 112A,"_ the computerized voice chirped across the bridge suddenly. Almost immediately, the bridge seemed to go into high gear as everyone began moving briskly towards their designated seats and positions, ignoring the lost and clueless researcher completely. Thankfully, Commander Hyll noticed Kiir's plight and gestured for him to take a seat alongside his position at the command station.

"I apologise for the lack of hospitality here," Hyll quickly mentioned once the scientist was comfortably strapped in, "Things usually get busy during hyperspace jumps, as it's normally the only time we can get our affairs in order without having to worry about proximity alerts and such."

"No offense was taken sir," Kiir answered politely, the ship seeming to shiver slightly as he said so. Sure enough, the blue swirl of hyperspace on the viewscreen was giving way to the cold darkness of normal space.

"_Hyperspace exit successful,"_ the computer announced in its emotionless voice.

And then Kiir found himself looking at an _Eye of Aaraan_ gate node for the first time. It was a magnificent ring-shaped structure in space and at least as massive as Balcora Gate itself. Various Hiigaran ships were already flitting about the megalith, hoping that their scans would force the gate to reveal some long-forgotten secrets.

"That is Gate 112A," the commander notified the scientist, "Amazing, isn't it?"

"It is… beautiful," came the awestruck reply, the sheer magnitude of the gate's structure overshadowing Kiir's mental troubles temporarily, "When are we scheduled to jump?"

"Spoken like a true scientist – you just can't wait can you?" Hyll smiled at the response, "We should be jumping within the hour, once the repair crews confirm the integrity of the gate and grant permission to _Eye_ command for gate activation."

"I have some concerns however…"

"To which I will say this: No gain without venture," came the commander's confident reply.

* * *

Several hundred light years away, another historical moment was taking place over the skies of Hiigara. Celebrations were already underway planetside at the successful launch of the massively overhauled Mothership, which had just cleared the _Second Scaffold_ some moments ago.

"We have cleared the Scaffold and will reach minimum safe distance in one minute," Yuno's avatar reported, arms crossed and standing elegantly beside the fleet admiral.

"The wait has been long, isn't it?"

"For the sake of the celebratory mood I will play along and say 'we are away at last,'" the Manaani scientist answered nonchalantly, "I have not, however, forgotten the nonsense I had to put up with prior to the occasion."

Eefrit shrugged at the incisive comment, "Suit yourself."

The sight was breathtaking. The original Mothership no longer looked like the ancient something from a century ago. Literally taken apart and rebuilt from the bottom up in many places, she was now larger and more resilient than both her original design and even the _Pride of Hiigara_. Despite the changes however, she still remained unmoved from the hearts of all Hiigarans across the Inner Rim.

To them, she was still the Matriarch, the Voyager, the Mothership.

"… Eefrit?"

"What I'd give for a moment's peace to savour the view," the admiral grumbled as he fumbled for his communicator, beeping noisily once again, "Scientists aren't good with hints, are they?"

"This isn't about us – it's about Captain Soban," Yuno replied in as diplomatic a voice she could muster, knowing full well this would not be taken well by the admiral.

"What about him?" Eefrit uttered as he glanced at his communicator, only to freeze in silent shock at the message before him.

"… _Sabre_ reports the loss of the _Gatekeeper_ to a hyperspace rift just minutes ago," Yuno mentioned softly, her words bouncing uselessly off the oblivious and stunned man.


	4. Discovery

**DIVINITY – BOOK ONE: WRATH OF THE GODS**

**CHAPTER 3: DISCOVERY

* * *

**

_It is not always easy to perceive the size of the Galaxy due to its sheer massiveness. Considering that the distance between Kharak, beyond the Great Wastelands, and Hiigara, an Inner Rim world, is at least thirty-five thousand light years, it is easy to understand the irrelevance of the fastest fusion drives. They are, after all, conventional drives._

_With such stellar distances in mind, one can definitely see the importance of hyperspace – the only known means of efficient travel across the Galaxy. Hyperspace came to the known Galaxy only in the First Time, with the Bentusi's discovery of the First Core. Using the vast powers granted by the First Core, the Outer Limb Trade Routes were established, uniting the Galaxy in peace. While various hyperspace modules were developed as a result of the Bentusi's technological hand downs, no other sentient race was able to develop a similar hyperdrive with the capabilities of the First Core._

_It did not take long for the various races to realise the value of hyperspace in combat. The Hiigarans first took advantage of this in their terrible war for domination. Corrupted by the power of the Second Core, they were quick to use its far jumping capabilities in their mad conquest. Thankfully, they were stopped by the enigmatic Bentusi._

_While hyperspace's importance remained during later times, especially during the Hiigaran race's Homecoming, there is no doubt that the End Time saw the most vicious use of far jumping hypertechnology. With the Third Core came great bloodshed and tragedy, bringing much of the known Galaxy to its knees._

_The Galaxy's understanding of hyperspace has come a long way since the First Time, and ships now sport hyperspace modules with ever-increasing jump ranges. Yet, some mysteries remain._

_What secret lies behind the immense power of the Hyperspace Cores, that allow them to propel entire fleets across mind-numbing distances in a single jump? What causes the bizarre hyperspatial anomalies in various regions of space?_

_Most importantly, was hyperspace travel developed as an instrument of discovery, or a tool of war?_

* * *

As the _Legacy of Kharak_ flickered into objective being on the outskirts of the Hiigaran system, Yuno prepared to inform Eefrit of the hyperdrive test's success. A quick glance through a concealed surveillance camera relieved her – for the admiral seemed to have recovered from the nasty emotional shock and was going through his work at his station on the bridge.

_This must've been what it was like when I died,_ the computerized scientist mused, _Except this time there is no coming back._

She shimmered into plain view before the admiral, so engrossed in his work that he didn't think to look up.

"Ahem," Yuno began, "Sir, the hyperdrive test was successful and extrapolated sensor readings indicate that the hyperspace module is functioning at one hundred percent efficiency. We should have no trouble achieving the projected maximum jump range of two thousand light years."

"Mmhmm," came the disinterested reply.

"You do remember that you are required to personally contact Lady Sjet over this success?" Yuno reminded gently.

"Oh. I'll get round to it later. You may go now."

"But sir…"

"Enough already!" Eefrit yelled angrily, slamming his fists down on his console as he did so, "Have you any idea what I'm going through now?"

"I'm sorry for your loss…"

"Sorry? SORRY?" the admiral continued to shout at Yuno's hologram, "You wouldn't understand – no, you couldn't! You're _DEAD!_"

Eefrit stopped there, shocked by his own choice of vocabulary and the fact that he had just let those words out of his mouth. For a few silent moments he could only gape bewilderedly at the stunned look on the hologram's face.

"… you speak truth, sir," Yuno broke the awkward silence at last, "I am _technically_ dead…"

"No no!" Eefrit countered quickly, "I… I can't believe I actually said such a thing… I mean…"

"It's alright admiral sir. I've long since gotten over that bit of my life… or should I say, afterlife?" Yuno chuckled slightly in a bid to lighten the mood.

"Enough of that – I owe you an apology for that outburst," came the admiral's reply, "Don't know what got into me. It's just that… Soban and I… we go back a long time…"

"Since the Dust Wars, or so I've heard…" the scientist's hologram nodded in acknowledgement, "… they said it was a hyperspace rift. Perhaps they'll simply re-emerge somewhere else?"

"Thank you Yuno," Eefrit smiled weakly, "But you and I both know the true nature of Coruc-Tel. No ship lost there has ever returned. Now, you were going to inform me regarding?"

"I concede I nearly forgot," Yuno admitted as she took the admiral's cue to change the subject, "After you inform Lady Sjet of our hyperdrive test results, we are to return immediately to Hiigara for final retrofitting."

"I see. Is there anything else?"

"This just came in during the last couple of minutes," Yuno continued, "The retrofit is to be completed within twenty hours, after which we will be required to launch officially for our first mission."

"So they decided to cancel the post-launch tests after all," Eefrit noted as he thought back to his various conversations with High Command some weeks earlier, his arguments that Hiigara didn't have the luxury of time for such an extensive suite of tests, "Mission details?"

"We are to make an immediate hyperjump to the Coruc-Tel system to assist the _Sabre_ against the Raider incursion, assuming the fleet still remains," the scientist explained, "Not long after informing us of the Dreadnaught's loss the _Sabre_ suffered in-system jamming and communications were lost. Fleet Command is apparently not willing to risk losing another carrier to the Raiders' weaponised Beast variant and has decided to opt for a full-fledged Mothership assault force."

"To be sure it doesn't spread beyond Coruc-Tel," Eefrit reasoned, "Leaving us with too little time again, as usual."

"I will begin pre-jump preparations at once," Yuno bowed slightly as she took her leave, shimmering out of sight and leaving the admiral to his thoughts on the otherwise empty bridge.

* * *

Powering up the viewscreen in his quarters, Kiir was greeted by the eerie blue streaks of hypergate transit. An hour had passed since they entered 112A's jump horizon, and there was still no end in sight.

_It's another galaxy entirely,_ he thought, _It's supposed to be far._

A tap of a button returned him to the notes and equations that formed the foundation of his theory on Far Jumping. Years of mental efforts and research had only yielded one success – the Sync Jump Algorithm that let ships merge their quantum waveforms so as to achieve greater strategic jump ranges. Many gaps still remained in his overall theory however – gaps that refused to be filled despite him throwing considerable mental efforts at the problems.

"… _while the loss in Hiigaran life, especially that of war veteran Captain Soban, is indeed tragic, perhaps more catastrophic is the loss of research possibilities on board the Progenitor Dreadnaught…"_

The words that made up Hiigaran Fleet Command's official response continued to echo in the researcher's mind. News of the _Gatekeeper_'s tragic loss at Coruc-Tel had reached them before the gate jump. While the fact that the Turanic Raiders had found a way to weaponise the Beast for their own insidious ends was greatly disturbing, he was affected more by the factual, even casual response of Hiigaran Fleet Command.

_So deaths conveniently become unfortunate statistics in the name of the sciences. I wonder if Karan would agree._

Not that her Divine Word would matter – she was simply too far away now. Last he heard, Karan had taken the _Sajuuk_ on yet another expedition through another extension of the _Eye of Aaraan_, believing it to be a path to the mysterious and impenetrable Southern Galactic Fringe.

"_Attention all crews,"_ Commander Hyll's voice boomed suddenly across the broadcast system, _"Sensors indicate that we will be reverting to normal space in approximately one minute. Report to your positions and stand by for hyperspace exit. Kiir Sjet, I request your presence on the bridge as soon as is conveniently possible. Thank you."_

* * *

The Dreadnaught's bridge shuddered with an urgent violence as the vessel was hauled unceremoniously into the depths of hyperspace. While alarmed by the sudden turn of events, it was all Soban could do while awaiting an informed analysis from Sora.

"NAV reports we are rushing through hyperspace to an indeterminate location," the Paktu finally answered, straining his voice to be heard over the din of the ship's groaning superstructure, "I've gotten word to Engineering – Idus should have a solution in due time!"

"He'd better have," Soban replied in as calm a voice he could muster, knowing full well the fate of other Hiigaran vessels that had been ensnared by the fingers of Coruc-Tel, "If we're going to get out of this alive…"

"… _ahead of you on that sir,"_ the Somtaaw's voice crackled over the intercom with a welcome suddenness, _"We've reconfigured the hyperdrives to generate a reversed quantum waveform. In theory it should get us back to normal space…"_

"Then what in Qwaar's name are we waiting for – Sora!"

The shuddering increased in intensity as the hyperspace systems came online, their distant strained whine clearly audible to all on the _Gatekeeper_'s bridge. A colourful curse escaped from Sora's lips as the Hyperspace NAV decided to give up the ghost and shatter from the power surges coursing through its system, filling the bridge with the acrid smell of fried circuitry.

"We've lost HyperNAV!"

"Registering system shorts occurring in nearly all of our internal systems," Aalcor added to the grim news, "Main power is fluctuating, and there is some sort of energy feedback building in the phased cannon array."

"Heard that Idus?" Soban hollered at the intercom so as to be heard over the racket.

"_We're doing everything we can here," _the hapless Somtaaw answered, _"Shunting all available power to hyperdrives!"_

As the ship jolted sharply once more, the swirls of hyperspace outside the ship began slowing down to reveal a window of realspace before them. Another deafening groan reverberated through the Dreadnaught's superstructure, the marvel of Progenitor engineering threatening to tear apart as the _Gatekeeper_ finally dropped back into the relative safety of normal space.

"Quite a ride," the captain muttered as he waited for life support to clear the considerable veil of smoke from the bridge's atmosphere. As visibility improved, he was relieved to see that the bridge crew had gotten away with just a few bruises and grazes.

"So… what's still working here?"

"Not the HyperNAV," came the ship helm's reply, "So all we can do is blind jump till it's fixed."

"_Not that easy I'm afraid,"_ the Somtaaw engineer chimed in again, _"Hyperdrive plasma conduits are a complete mess, as is the rest of Engineering – there's lots of work to be done here before we get hyperdrives back."_

"Do you have a nice ETA then?"

"_We have an ETA but it's not nice captain – at least forty-eight hours before we get micro-jump capability, and another seventy-two before the thing'll jump normally."_

"Well," Soban had to raise a palm to his face at the news, "Aalcor – please tell me we're still good tactically."

"Outer armor is not compromised, as is the hull," the Manaani answered, "Point defence systems and the plasma turret remain functional as well – but I would hesitate to recommend use of the PCA until a full diagnostic can be conducted."

"Take all the time you want. Eliir?"

"Sensors are still confused by our sudden transit to normal space – it will take some time for them to recalibrate. But based on visual data alone…" the Sjet trailed off.

"Sounds like you need to revisit those starcharts Eliir," Soban chuckled as he took his first proper look at the main viewscreen since the hyperspace craziness – only to realize that it was not ignorance on Eliir's part.

Wherever they now were, streaks of starlight seemed to scatter and stretch randomly in all directions – as though they were still in hyperspace.

_The Hell? Is the bloody Universe bending in around us or…_

It was then that Soban noticed the two stars situated at the extreme ends of the viewscreen. Their colour, size and brilliance were unmistakably recognizable.

"Coruc and Tel," Soban uttered, "So we're still in-system at least, yet…"

"Sensors recalibrated," Eliir interrupted the puzzled captain, "None of our starcharts match our present location however, and I'm picking up some distant traces of a quantum anomaly. Perhaps this is some kind of a parallel universe?"

"Possibly – but who knows?" Soban shrugged at his sensor officer's suggestion, "Quantum physics wasn't one of my academic strengths. Keep scanning the region for anything we might recognize."

"I am, and I think I've found something," came the reply, "Derelict object thirty-nine kilometres from our current position. Magnifying visual data…"

And then the unmistakable design of a Far Jumper flickered into plain view for all to see.

* * *

Kiir Sjet stepped onto the bridge just as the ship emerged from hyperspace, the blue streaks surrounding the carrier splitting open to reveal the blackness of space beyond. Moments later, the _Exile_ passed the threshold along with its escort fleet of frigates and destroyers.

"A pleasant end to a pleasant journey if I might say," Hyll remarked.

"While I wish not to spoil the mood, I can only hope it stays that way," Kiir replied cautiously, "We are, after all, in uncharted territory."

"You worry unduly – this fleet is fully equipped to handle anything short of a mothership assault force," came the commander's confident reply, "Besides, if anything were to go wrong it is a simple matter to return whence…

"… I apologise for the interruption sirs," the _Exile_'s sensor officer spoke up suddenly, "But long range scanners have picked up a large debris field thirteen kilometres from our position."

"There is always a debris field isn't it," Hyll sighed at the news, "Details?"

"Running preliminary scans now – we should have results in…" the officer paused as the readings popped up before him, causing his eyes to widen in stunned surprise.

"Well?"

"… Bentusi origins," the officer managed to say, "Those are Bentusi ruins out there."

The bridge fell silent at the sudden revelation, everyone stunned at the fact that the Bentusi should be found even in such a distant place as this.

_But it's not possible,_ Kiir was racing through all the possibilities now, Bentus_ was the last of the Bentusi, and the rest of their fleet wiped out by the Crusades. Unless…_

"The fleet is to micro-jump to those coordinates immediately," Hyll ordered upon recovering from the initial shock, "And Kiir – if you have any theories whatsoever…"

"I think I already have," the researcher answered as it all fell into place, "This was where they fled to so many years ago, during the Beast conflict."


	5. Isolated Pawn

**DIVINITY – BOOK ONE: WRATH OF THE GODS**

**CHAPTER 4: ISOLATED PAWN

* * *

**

_Many millennia ago, the Progenitors forged the Great Hyperspace Cores. Containing all their knowledge of hyperspace up to that point in time, the Cores became some of the first devices in the known universe to achieve far jumping capabilities. In the beginning, the Progenitors expanded their influence rapidly, using the combined power of the Three Cores to propel their mighty vessels across entire galaxies._

_Unfortunately, the temptation of such power soon corrupted the Progenitors. Many argued that the power of the Three Cores, if used for war, would allow them to conquer the Universe. While a goal of great ambition, the immense jump range of the Three combined made it a theoretical possibility._

_The Elders declared this thought an atrocity, and barred their entire civilisation from further discussion, on pain of death. Dissatisfied with this decision, a great number of Progenitors splintered off to form an opposing force with the goal of capturing_ Sajuuk _and her Three Cores. Thus began the opening shots of the Progenitor Civil War._

_The battle raged on without end, decimating the Progenitor homeworld along with thousands of worlds across many galaxies. The end of the war came at the Battle of Karos, where the last remnants of the Progenitors clashed. The rebels could not stand up to the awesome power of _Sajuuk_, the super dreadnaught that housed the Trinity._

_To prevent the Three Cores from falling into the wrong hands, the Elders scattered the them throughout M51 and sealed _Sajuuk_ within the depths of Balcora. And thus the Progenitors faded from memory._

* * *

"Requesting permission to open fire on target drones."

"_Permission granted. Take them out, Luca."_

He pulled the trigger and the drones exploded consecutively, their thin hulls providing little resistance to the fighter's dual rail guns. A quick twirl of the controls caused the fighter to dart around and speed off in the opposite direction.

"_Rail guns are operating within optimal parameters. You may now neutralize the target frigate."_

"A pleasure," Luca replied as he flicked a switch, causing the Acolyte III's 'wings' to extend and reveal the scaled-down pulsars within. Then a series of ionic bolts streaked out and gouged into the frigate's hull, slicing off sizeable chunks of the ship's armour plating.

"_Excellent work – Acolyte III is operating at full combat efficiency,"_ his flight controller noted with satisfaction, _"Come on home."_

"Sure thing," the pilot answered as he began guiding his new toy back towards the _Second Scaffold_, "And thanks again for the ride!"

"_You don't need to thank me,"_ came the modest reply, _"Your Saviour title alone was more than enough to get you into the test programme short list. Not much string pulling here on my end."_

"Enough of that Saviour crap," Luca sighed, "Now when I get back we'll go grab a few drinks on my tab. I insist."

"_Whatever you say then. Scaffold Control out."_

_Not that I even wanted the 'Saviour' title,_ the Hiigaran thought as he sat back and let the autopilot take over, the computer seamlessly directing the agile craft to its home hangar.

Such was the title granted to the brave few Blade pilots who had, against incredible odds, prevailed and prevented the Vaygr atmosphere deprivation warheads from reaching their target. That final battle over Hiigara had been a very tough one, even with the acquisition of _Sajuuk_, for the Vaygr fielded ferocious numbers of ships in a bid to complete the Genocide once and for all. So tenacious were the Warriors of the Fringe that even Fleet Intelligence conceded it was very much a miracle none of the warheads made it through to the Homeworld.

And then some bureaucrat went and coined the incredibly corny term to apply it to those who qualified. "Proper recognition," they said, followed by hours of ceremony and formalities that he had to go through just to receive said title. Now he couldn't walk anywhere planetside without being fawned upon by overly grateful denizens of the citizenry. If not for the pleasant side-effect the well-announced title had on the girls, he'd have gone insane long ago.

_Poor Karan,_ Luca thought as he recalled the phenomenon surrounding the hapless Sjet in the few months following Landfall, _I guess that makes us fellow sufferers._

Whereupon the flight computers began beeping at him again, announcing the return of the _Legacy of Kharak_. Looking through the cockpit window, he watched as his home for the next few months slid majestically out of hyperspace.

* * *

"Sir, results from the close range scans are in – hull metallurgy and ship design match those of the Bentusi."

"This is most remarkable," the Nabaal commander could barely contain his excitement at the find, "Commence further scans at once – I want to know immediately if there's anything in salvageable condition out there."

"You seem more thrilled than I am at this sir," Kiir commented as he watched the rest of the bridge crew scurry about their new tasks.

"For good reason – have you not considered the implications such a find could have on Hiigaran ship design?" Hyll was incredulous at the researcher's less-than-ecstatic reaction, "In fact I should be asking the reverse of you: why you are hardly shaken by the find."

"Because I worry," came the reply, "The severity of damage on surviving fragments is quite significant. Take for instance these scorch marks…"

Kiir gestured towards one of the chunks displayed on the viewscreen. The metal had been scorched to a near perfect shade of black and was nearly indiscernible against the dark backdrop of the cosmos. It had also been melted and warped so severely it more resembled a blob of refined raw material than a piece off a ship's hull.

"Not even _Bentus_' self-destruct managed to create such thorough results," Kiir reminded gravely, "And considering that Bentusi armour ranks among the toughest in the known Galaxy, we ought to worry more about whatever it was that made this mess in the first place."

"Given the age of the wreckage, I should think we can safely say that this theoretical hostile should be nowhere near this place…"

"'Should' is a dangerous word to use commander," Kiir responded cautiously, "As much as the researcher in me craves for a close look, the sane Hiigaran screams for me to turn tail and flee as quickly as the hyperdrives allow."

"Paranoid are you?"

"Perhaps," Kiir shrugged at the word, "But considering the Navy in its present state – I doubt they need another potential hostile at our doorstep."

"… I hate to interrupt your conversation sir," one of the bridge officers cut in reluctantly, "But the scans have revealed trace techno-organic signatures scattered amid the wreckage."

Hyll Naabal's eyes widened in shock at the news, "Techno-organic? Are they Beast?"

"There are several similarities in organic structure so we can at least say they are derived from the Beast," the officer replied, "But if the energy conduits and circuits are anything to go by this could well be a more highly-evolved strain."

"It seems my paranoia is justified after all," Kiir commented, a tinge of smugness evident in his voice, "What then, Commander?"

"… We will return to Hiigara ahead of schedule," the senior officer's answer came after a few seconds of thought, "As soon as the planned scans are completed…"

"Commander! Registering energy fluctuations from the gate node – the quantum waveform is collapsing!"

"It's what?" Hyll was stunned beyond measure now, "Scramble alert to all ships – abandon all current mission objectives and prepare for emergency hyperspace jump!"

As a new cacophony of chaos erupted on the bridge, Kiir merely turned his gaze to the main viewscreen to observe the gate node in the distance. Even if they could retrieve the salvagers in record time, even if the hyperdrives were charged and standing by…

_Already too late,_ the scientist thought as the portal finally vaporised in a flash of light.

"Gate node has shut down, I say again, the gate node has shut down," one of the bridge officers was heard reporting over the din.

"We've lost communications with _Eye _Command!"

"Salvagers docked! Do we still jump?"

"… Kiith's blood we've got incoming bogeys!"

The last exclamation caused all eyes to turn to the sensors display, which now sported a new multitude of contacts approaching rapidly via hyperspace…

* * *

When the initial shock and hoo-ha from the first sighting died down Soban had given the order to approach the derelict for a closer look. Several minutes later, the _Gatekeeper_ now hovered several hundred metres before the ancient device, its intricacies keeping the bridge crew's attention on the main viewscreen.

"Do we have a verdict Eliir?"

"I've done whatever I could with the ship's sensor suite," the dutiful Sjet answered quickly, "Barring a few differences in power conduit and module layout, that derelict is most probably a Hyperspace Core."

"So the Progenitors were not content to just make three," Soban muttered as he pondered their next move. Then he tapped a button to activate the intercom, "Are you seeing what we're seeing up here Idus?"

"… _Yes we are sir,"_ the Somtaaw's reply made it quite apparent that Engineering was still largely surprised and stunned by the discovery.

"I want that Core retrieved and brought along with us," Soban put across his request plainly, "Can it be done?"

"… _I can get my guys to prepare a makeshift grappling system to adhere the Core to the outer hull,"_ came Idus' reply, _"We'll need some… time however, to prepare the equipment and to recalibrate the hyperdrive for the additional mass."_

"Get it done as soon as you can – at least while things are still peaceful out here," Soban added before closing the channel.

He sat down in his command seat, suddenly feeling a wave of mental fatigue at the series of events that had just transpired. Turanic Raiders armed with a weaponised Beast virus, a mysterious and convenient hyperspace rift, and now to top it all off what seemed to be the Fourth Hyperspace Core.

"Captain!" Eliir's exclamation interrupted his thoughts with a sudden urgency, "Multiple hyperspace contacts inbound!"

"Here we go again," Soban let out a resigned sigh, "How many are..."

The war veteran went silent along with the rest of the bridge as the ships slid out of hyperspace before them. Their gold-yellow hulls, the unmistakable dual-wing design, the repeating message pulse on the com channels...

"_We are the Keepers of Coruc-Tel. We are the servants of Koshiir Ra."_

"Picking up weapons locks!"

"Brace!"

Seven pairs of ion beams leapt across the cold vacuum of space and crackled menacingly against the _Gatekeeper_'s energy shielding, activated just in the nick of time.

"Fire at will – I want firing solutions with the phased cannon array five minutes ago!" Soban roared as he strapped himself into his seat harness. Moments later the Dreadnaught's plasma turret opened fire, belching pulses of concentrated plasma energy on the Keeper in front of them. Then the nanite cannons activated, lashing out ferociously at the surrounding ships with their vermillion streaks of light.

"Plasma turret and nanite cannons having minimal effect!" Eliir reported in dismay.

"Try to get a lock on the energy frequency of their shielding! Aalcor, prepare to synchronise with Eliir accordingly!"

"Sir, I am unable to accomplish firing solutions for the phased cannon array," Aalcor answered, his nerves somehow still letting him stay calm despite the situation, "The Keepers are too manoeuvrable for the ship to keep up with."

A shudder gripped the bridge as the Keepers maintained their barrage on the Dreadnaught – hopelessly outnumbered and far too slow to aim its main gun at any of its attackers. The automatons' own ion beams and nanite cannons faced no such difficulty however: continuing to rake across the _Gatekeeper_'s shimmering shields with the methodical tenacity of a machine with purpose.

"_Captain, shields at ninety percent and falling,"_ Idus' grim warning came in over the intercom, _"They won't last forever under this onslaught."_

"Tell me you've made progress with the hyperdrive repairs..." Soban was now gritting his teeth in sheer frustration at their helplessness – why in Sajuuk's name had the Progenitors designed a Dreadnaught class warship that was so _useless_?

"_Four of the twelve plasma conduits have been replaced. Not enough for a hyperspace jump, but adequate for basic quantum waveform generation."_

"I don't give a skaarshit about 'basic quantum waveform generation,'" the captain could scarcely believe their luck now, "If we can't jump then that hyperdrive's just a useless chunk!"

"Sir, if I may suggest otherwise..." Aalcor looked calmly in Soban's direction, who responded with a gruff nod for him to continue, "... I believe Miss Eliir will be acquiring the Keepers' shield frequencies at any time now, which would allow us to inflict measurable damage to the ships. We know the Keepers will phase out for repairs past a certain threshold, after which they will jump back in..."

"And what has that got to do with our non-functional hyperdrive?"

"Basic quantum waveform generation is all that we require to disrupt their incoming waveform," the Manaani officer explained, "With luck, we should be able to hold ships in hyperspace while we bring the PCA to bear..."

"Sensor locks on shield frequencies acquired!" Eliir announced triumphantly.

"Thank you," Aalcor nodded as he tapped a button, synchronising the plasma turret and nanite cannons to the new data, "Sir?"

"Hyperspace physics is not my forte," Soban conceded, "But if you think this will work then do what you will."

"Certainly," the tactical officer acknowledged as he entered a new series of commands into his console, causing the _Gatekeeper_ to open fire on the nearest Keeper with her newly-recalibrated weapons. Now the plasma and nanite cannon shots passed through the shields as though they weren't there, exploding and shattering against the armoured hull of the mechanical protector. Sure enough, the Keeper disappeared in a flickering of light as it phased out to avoid critical damage.

"Keeper has phased out – sensors locked on and tracking," Eliir updated.

Aalcor remained silent, choosing instead to continue their defence by retargeting another Keeper for the duration of the wait. Even as he unleashed another salvo from the Dreadnaught's secondary weapons, he maintained the majority of his attention on the incoming sensor updates. And then a loud ping announced what he had been waiting for.

"Keeper exiting hyperspace!"

"Did you get my message chief," Aalcor asked, maintaining his epitome of calm in the frantic storm.

"_Got it – initiating quantum waveform generation!"_

The Keeper's hyperspace window opened but instead of releasing the Keeper to normal space it paused, the two ships' hyperdrives wrestling with each other as they directed interfering quantum waveforms at each other. Then the Keeper's window quivered and shrank as it lost the battle against the Dreadnaught's more powerful hyperdrive.

"Damn," Sora commented from his position at the helm, scarcely believing what he was seeing on the main viewscreens, "Aalcor, you're good."

"Hardly – it was merely the logical conclusion," the Manaani shrugged nonchalantly as he brought the Dreadnaught to bear on the empty region of space, "Beginning phased cannon array charge sequence."

"_Powering down hyperdrive now!"_

The quantum interference from the _Gatekeeper_ vanished promptly, allowing the yellow hyperspace window to open once more to release the Keeper from its dimensional prison. The moment the wavefront revealed the Keeper the phased cannon array lit up with a blinding light that connected instantly with the Progenitor ship. The automaton shattered immediately, exploding with tremendous force.

"Confirming the destruction of one Keeper."

"Excellent work Aalcor," Soban declared, "So now it is simply a matter of rinse and repeat..."

"We're not quite in the clear yet captain," Eliir warned suddenly, her voice slightly incredulous at the fact that she had been so engrossed with the battle that she had failed to notice the phenomenon earlier.

"Don't tell me..." Soban's smile faded as he remembered his briefings about this particular star system.

"Gravitational anomalies detected along with a sharp spike in ambient temperatures," Eliir reported weakly as all energy and colour drained from her face, "Tel is undergoing sudden orbital shift..."

A quick glance at the right viewscreen confirmed the sensor officer's report: sure enough, the fiery doom of the star system's secondary star was approaching them with startling speed, trying to consume the entire region of space with its ever-hungry tendrils of plasma.

"Qwaardammit. Idus, emergency hyperspace jump now!"

"_We can't! The conduits'll just blow..."_

"I don't care what it takes," the captain continued drily, "Override every safety protocol if you have to – just get us out of here!"

It was then that Soban and everyone else on the _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_ felt a sudden presence – as though a mighty being of unspeakable power had suddenly opened a long-asleep eye to glance at them, analyse them, see right through their very souls...

And then that fleeting moment was gone.

"What in Kharak's name was that?"

"I have no idea – it was a quantum pulse of some kind, I don't know..." Eliir managed to blurt out a reply, her very being quite visibly shaken by the strange experience, "I think it came from the..."

And then a hyperspace window opened up and swept the entire length of the Dreadnaught with a startling suddenness and without sensor warning. As the jump window closed behind them, the crew caught a last glimpse of the Keepers being consumed entirely by the massive star.


	6. Build Up

**DIVINITY**

**BOOK ONE: WRATH OF THE GODS**

**CHAPTER 5: BUILD UP

* * *

**

_It is a common misconception that the Three Cores symbolized the culmination of all the Progenitors' advances in hyperspace technology. Of course, it is naïve to think that the ancient race would have stopped at the slightest entry into this mysterious domain._

_Dissatisfied with the fact that it took the Three Cores combined to achieve the true Far Jumping they desired, the Progenitors put their brightest minds together in a quest to create a Hyperspace Core with infinite range. Such a Core would finally put the farthest corners of the Universe within grasp of their explorers._

_The process was long and hard. Thousands of test pilots sacrificed their lives when the test Cores onboard their ships failed to contain the massive energies required for such ranged jumps. The worst had yet to come though – convinced that they had finally achieved a breakthrough design, a ship with another prototype Core was launched. Its entrance into hyperspace came with disastrous results: not only was the ship lost, but the massive space-time disruption resulted in the destruction of an entire sector._

_The project was abandoned when the War for Sajuuk came, and the Progenitors were plunged into great chaos. With all regard for ideals thrown aside, it seemed that such a concept would remain a fleeting dream…_

* * *

_Always a crazy rush around these parts,_ Luca thought glumly to himself as he scrambled to reach the assembly point. He had scarcely stepped off the Acolyte III when the message from Hiigaran Fleet Command came in: that he had been assigned, with immediate effect, to the _Legacy of Kharak_ as part of her strike craft squadrons.

The doors to the briefing hall whirred open and the pilot nearly stumbled through in his haste, with only the threat of embarrassment in front of his would-be colleagues keeping him from hitting the floor. As Luca slipped stealthily into the gathered ranks the overhead speakers began buzzing with activity, bringing a silence as the pilots quickly stood to attention.

"_Attention all pilots,"_ Admiral Eefrit's voice boomed across with a crispness and clarity that was all-too familiar to the war veterans present, _"Hiigara is threatened yet again, and I am grateful for your quick response to this crisis…"_

_Don't they ever get sick of this?_ He could scarcely believe his ears, _A grudge that's over a century old?_

"… _You have all been assigned to the First Fleet as we have received some disturbing reports. Now I'm sure you must have heard of the loss of the _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_, and hence you must see to it that their sacrifice was not made in vain…"_

_They lost the WHAT?_ Luca nearly guffawed at the revelation – it was only thanks to the strict military protocol training ingrained in him that he was able to remain motionless and at attention.

"… _We will be making a jump to the Coruc-Tel system shortly to confirm the fate of both _Gatekeeper_ and _Sabre_. We have lost all communications and must assume that any survivors have fallen to the Beast infection. We cannot make the mistake of underestimating the Turanic Raiders again. That is all. Report to your positions immediately!"_

* * *

"… I was expecting something far more inspirational," Yuno commented wryly as the admiral closed the channel, "Instead of the generic battle report style."

"Then maybe you could do the briefings next time," came the cold no-nonsense reply, "Frankly, I'm not in the mood, not after what they did…"

"With respect sir, it is a hazardous job we're working in," the Manaani mentioned thoughtfully as her holographic avatar walked up towards the senior officer, "People die out here, and if you're going to react this way every time that happens…"

"I know I know," Eefrit shook his head as he grudgingly conceded the point, "You'd think that with all my years on the job it'd make the deaths easier, even if it were someone like Soban…"

"Has it?"

"Not one bit - if anything, the years have only made it much harder for me…" the admiral paused for a moment to glance at his desk, as if to reminisce about days of a time long past. Then he turned to Yuno with a slightly forced smile, "Heh, I must seem like an old softie undeserving of the job…"

"Hardly," Yuno held out a hand instinctively, only to retract it quickly when she remembered that she was nothing more than a mere hologram now…

"Are we ready to jump?"

"Yes yes, we are," Yuno answered, somehow both grateful and saddened at the fact that the admiral hadn't noticed her little gesture earlier on, "All systems are nominal and the hyperspace module is fully charged. Initiate?"

"At your discretion," Eefrit nodded slightly, "I'll be heading to the bridge now…"

As the admiral walked through the doors Yuno took a moment to glance at whatever it was that Eefrit had been looking at: a small golden plaque - tarnished with the years but still standing defiantly by the side of the desk console. Carved into it was the familiar motif that was also the name of the Hiigaran Fleet Academy's highest honour – awarded for the first time since Landfall to two recipients.

_The Angel Wing, 80AHL. Joint honours: Eefrit Naabal, Melarn Soban_

* * *

The massive vessel moved slowly, but it did so with a grace that few other Hiigaran ships had. As the _Legacy of Kharak_ inched towards the centre of the formation, some of the ion cannon frigates in the vicinity fired off their cerulean blue energy beams to create a beautiful criss-cross of light in the void: a blessing for the new Mothership and her eventual baptism of fire.

And then space itself quivered and sang as windows of blue opened up before the ships, engulfing them whole as the fleet made the jump to hyperspace.

* * *

Karan opened her eyes, a slight frown etched across her face as messages from the bridge began to swarm her inputs.

"_I am quite fine – thank you for your concerns,"_ the reply went shooting off, underlined with a hint of annoyance and exasperation.

"_We picked up stress signals in your bio signs. We expected the worst..."_

"_I do assure you that it is probably normal even for a Sajuuk Khar to exhibit stress 'at times,'"_ she was rolling her eyes now as she regarded the other screens displaying in the confined space that was the _Sajuuk_'s command core - a far cry from her more uncomfortable days in the old Mothership and onboard the _Pride of Hiigara_.

The first thing that had caught her attention following the transfer was not the mysterious glyphs labelling the Progenitor control systems, or the amazing computer technologies, or even the direct interface systems that led straight to the Trinity System itself.

Rather, it was the distinct lack of the fluid-filled control tank.

Certainly the Progenitors had made comfortable progress in that regard.

_So they say about the little things in life,_ the Sjet mused as she considered explaining the reasons behind her 'stress signals,' then deciding otherwise, _"Are there any updates of particular importance?"_

Of course her Unbound nature meant that she could have easily accessed the system logs and found out for herself. But there were times when she simply wanted to be able to ask people for information, to be told things, like a normal person would.

"_It is difficult to get updates from Command given our present distance, but we did receive a message regarding the loss of the Dreadnaught..."_

Karan's eyes widened as the words sank in. Then she was back in full Unbound mode once again, accessing the relevant data streams and packets for the information she needed.

_... Raider attack on Coruc-Tel, Dreadnaught dispatched with escort carrier _Sabre_, _Bravo II_ falling to..._

The words 'Beast infection' froze Karan in her tracks – while she had not been one of those actively commanding fleets to halt the monstrosity in those dark times, the news that made it back created a palpable atmosphere of fear across all Hiigara – one that not even she was above.

"_If the Turanic Raiders have indeed found a way to contain and control the virus for their own needs then the implications for Hiigara are quite dire. All hands, prepare for immediate..."_

And then there was something on the very edge of the _Sajuuk_'s sensor grid, like a glint out of the corner of the eye.

"_... Belay that. All hands stand by for micro jump."_

A single thought and the _Sajuuk_ obeyed, the Trinity System simply twinkling the Super Dreadnaught across the distance in the blink of an eye. When the Progenitor vessel emerged into normal space it immediately found itself dwarfed by the derelict hanging silently before it.

"_Ten thousand years old, just like the Foundry derelict in Karos,"_ Karan mused aloud after executing a quick scan of the wreck with the _Sajuuk_'s superior sensor suite, _"Some of the internal systems appear to still be marginally functional. I shall attempt to access and download whatever data remains..."_

Another thought and the invisible fingers of _Sajuuk_'s computer systems reached out to the derelict, waking whatever systems that still lived within and querying them for information. Then a sudden flood of information that threatened to saturate the even the massive bandwidth of the godship-initiated link. For several seconds Karan's eyelids fluttered as the data streamed seamlessly and unendingly into the databanks...

... and then it was over. But her heart was thumping furiously in her chest now, setting off the stress warnings to the bridge once again.

_What is this,_ the Sjet thought as she tried to calm herself, quickly pre-empting the inevitable queries from the bridge, _"Do not worry – I am fine..."_

She paused for a moment to consider the situation – that while she had not been consciously monitoring the data during the download, it would still get processed by her brain at some point and at the subconscious level. And whatever it was, something in that data had triggered in her the terrible sense of dread that was now rushing over her.

"_... I will now begin preparations for the Far Jump back to Hiigara. In the meantime, please gather the techs and have them begin looking at the downloaded data. I'd look it over myself but other pressing matters await..."_

"_Understood, Milady."_

Karan nodded and closed her eyes, focusing her thoughts on the divine task she was about to execute. She felt the energy from the Trinity System flood her mind as the Three Cores roared to life, shaking the space-time continuum in the region. Then a mighty window of light opened before the legendary ship, glowing brightly as a star as it slipped out of existence.

* * *

"Situation report number forty-three: The _Exile_ is currently hiding in a dense nebula approximately seven point nine light years from our previous battle. We are hoping that the sensor interference will keep us hidden from the... infected Bentusi fleet that has slaughtered nearly the entirety of our fleet. Meanwhile, astronavigation teams are working on mapping the surrounding space so as to allow us to make maximum range hyperspace jumps. We have also deployed resource ops and awakened all those in cryosleep onboard. Production is running at one hundred percent efficiency, and we hope to have a decently-sized escort before we jump out of this nebula..."

Hyll paused to catch a breath, nervously taking a sip from the glass of water beside him before continuing with his solemn entry.

"... We managed to get a distress signal out before we made our hyperspace escape. I personally doubt the effectiveness of such an action, given our position in a foreign galaxy and the considerable distance between here and home. Nonetheless, Kiir Sjet is working to tweak several more light years' range out of our hyperspace module so that we might reduce the projected travel time to years rather than decades. We are also considering trying to return home via the _Eye of Aaraan_, but that will mean having to get past the infected fleet, as well as the problem of the presently non-functional gate node. End report."

The Naabal commander powered down his console and lay down on his bed, trying to fall asleep but failing because he kept thinking back to the very words Kiir Sjet had mentioned the day before.

* * *

_We ought to worry more about whatever it was that made this mess in the first place. Me and my big mouth indeed..._

He had tried distracting himself with the hyperspace physics he was so fond of, scribbling possibilities, theorems, and equations down on scraps of paper. Perchance he could finish his work on refining his already revolutionary 'Sync Jump Algorithm,' that extended hyperspace jump ranges by synchronising quantum waveforms of multiple hyperspace modules via a modified wake jump procedure. In the end however it was a fruitless effort due to his mental preoccupation.

_I'll be damned about this,_ Kiir swore mentally as he looked through his essentially useless scribblings, _Why do I have to be right when I want to be wrong, and wrong when I want to be right?_

The researcher made one more attempt at correcting the equations, and then gave up and chucked the papers aside with a sigh. Taking a deep breath, the Sjet lay down and closed his eyes, trying his best to blot out the terrible images of the day's events.

And then the nightmares began.

* * *

The _Gatekeeper of Sajuuk_ dropped out of hyperspace abruptly but otherwise without incident, its rogue wavefront disappearing into a slit behind it. While disoriented and confused by the sudden nature of the jump, the ship's faithful crew got to work quickly nonetheless.

"We have exited hyperspace, standard sensors coming online..." Eliir updated as she went about trying to determine whatever it was that had caused their second unintentional jump in mere hours.

"Constellation match on NAV systems," Sora added, "We're in the middle of the Great Wastelands."

"At least that puts us a good distance away from Coruc-Tel," Soban uttered, slightly relieved by the reports, "Are we still in..."

"If the preliminary scans are correct then we are most assuredly back in normal space," the Sjet's response was near-instantaneous, "I believe we had been drawn into some kind of anomaly between hyperspace and normal space back in Coruc-Tel."

"Well I think we've all had enough of anomalies for the duration," Soban smirked slightly as he tapped on the intercom, "Soban to Engineering: any progress on the hyperdrive?"

"_Thankfully, that last jump did nothing to the drive, so we should be able to restore minimum range jumps over the hour or..."_

"Pardon the interruption sir," Eliir cut in suddenly, "Sensor recalibration has just finished, and it seems that we did not make the jump alone..."

Deciding to let the images speak for themselves, the petite sensors officer quickly brought up a magnified shot of the object on the main viewscreen – the mysterious Hyperspace Core from Coruc-Tel.

"It is drifting at an approximate distance of twenty-three kilometres from us and there appears to be a residual quantum wavefield dissipating around it," Eliir continued her report, "Now this must sound a ridiculous hypothesis: but I think that Core was what brought us here in the first place..."

"Ridiculous? It doesn't make any god damned sense!" came the exclamation from Sora, "It's not even plugged in to a ship – where is it supposed to be getting all that energy from? 'Magic?'"

"I imagine that Progenitor technology would be sufficiently advanced as to be indistinguishable from magic at times," Aalcor noted calmly, "Sir, perhaps it'd be best if we were to commence salvage operations at once so that we may further inspect the Core..."

"But of course," Soban nodded approvingly, "Sora, bring us up alongside the Core so that Idus can get his teams on the job."

* * *

The light from the twin stars shimmered and bent as the windows of energy opened. Like waves crashing upon the shores of their destination the windows jettisoned from the swirling depths of hyperspace the mighty ships of the Hiigaran Navy's First Fleet.

"Hyperspace jump successful, we are on target."

The bridge crews sprung into action, the various commanding officers quickly assuming control of their various squadrons and giving the orders to complete final preparations for battle.

"Yuno, try to open a channel with the _Sabre._"

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary," the hologram replied sadly, "Long range sensors are picking up erratic bio signatures on the carrier and her fleet – I believe they have all fallen."

"So we were too late... Kharak forgive us..." Eefrit uttered a silent prayer for the hundreds of wretched souls now part of the Beast's twisted immortality before speaking into the Fleet's broadcast channel, "Admiral Eefrit to all ships: launch and stand by to engage the Turanic Raiders. Stay clear of the inhibitor station at all costs!"

As the admiral's words got out the First Fleet moved into a frenzy of activity: the new Acolyte III class fighters, fresh off the _Legacy of Kharak_'s manufacturing lines, soared out from the Mothership's launch bays to join the Blade interceptors launching from the accompanying Imperator carriers. As the strike craft assumed their formations the First Fleet's complement of three battlecruisers and five destroyers engaged their fusion drives, advancing towards the defiant Turanic Raider forces arrayed against them.

"Admiral, it appears that the rumours were true," Yuno warned grimly as she considered the sensor data coming in, "Infected vessels have assumed formation alongside the Raider fleet – they have indeed found a way to control the virus."

Eefrit glanced at the tactical overlay and scowled: sure enough the combined Raider-Beast fleet now presented a formidable line of defence between the First Fleet and the infected inhibitor station, which had for reasons unknown yet to activate its hyperspace inhibitor field.

"We have the tactical advantage for the moment," Eefrit noted cautiously, "But only for the moment – that the inhibitor station is still offline means that they are quite possibly waiting for further reinforcements..."

"... but to rush in hastily would put our own vessels at unnecessary risk of infection," Yuno pointed out, "It is far too dangerous to assume that their only means of infection is only via the cruise missiles."

"Sounds like the perfect opportunity for long range bombardment," Eefrit smiled slyly as he gestured towards one of the commanding officers on the bridge, "I'm sending them in."

The squadron of ten broke away from the _Legacy_'s defensive frigate screen and manoeuvred towards the frontlines. More like light destroyers rather than ships of the frigate class, the ion assault frigates were a recent development spurred by the ongoing vendetta between Hiigara and the Turanic kingdoms. Each of the new ships sported a trio of dorsal-mounted triple turrets incorporating the new ion focus weapons – miniaturised ion cannons that each delivered the firepower of a pulsar weapon at ridiculously long range, making them the farthest hitting non-missile weapons in use in the Inner Rim.

"Frigates standing by for broadside bombardment," the officer-in-charge reported as the ships, like their heavier Destroyer cousins, turned about so as to bring all their turrets to bear.

And then a veritable array of tight energy beams streaked out from the frigates and burned into the infected carrier, the focused fire burning deep gashes in the _Sabre_'s armoured hull. Taken entirely by surprise by the new weapons the Raiders went from defiant to desperate as they quickly scrambled to close the distance between themselves and the First Fleet.

"Raider and Beast ships are advancing at flank speed," Yuno noted with a smirk, "Quite the surprise we must've given them there."

"They must not like the taste of their own medicine," Eefrit smiled slightly, recalling that the ion focus was derived from the prototype long range ion cannon used by the Imperialists to bombard Hiigara in the battle of 9AHL, "Maintain barrage – at this distance we should be able to get off several salvos before they even begin to approach firing range."

The order went out and another salvo of thin ion beams criss-crossed the vast space between the fleets, the blue beams of ionic doom shaving another layer of bio armour off the carrier's hull, which now spat smoke and drive plasma as it struggled on despite the damage. Seconds later, a third firing sequence sealed the _Sabre_'s fate, the Beastified Imperator class succumbing in a flash of dying light.

"Begin pulling back the ion assaults but maintain fire," the admiral ordered, pleased at the results but deciding against the danger of arrogance where the Beast was concerned, "All ships – fire at will the moment the Raiders enter firing range!"

* * *

_This is it,_ Luca thought as he watched the squadrons of Raider strike craft come closer and closer. He had had his finger on the trigger for some minutes now, simply waiting for the moment of attack.

"_Delta squadron: Turanic Raider strike craft inbound. Estimated time before contact: thirty seconds. Stand by to engage."_

_Bring it._


	7. First Strike

**DIVINITY**

**BOOK ONE: WRATH OF THE GODS**

**CHAPTER 6: FIRST STRIKE

* * *

**

"What do you mean they can't get the gate open?" the Hiigaran commander snapped impatiently.

"Err, _Eye_ Command said it wasn't them who closed the gate," the hapless ensign managed a reply to his superior, "They're not sure what happened, but something caused 112A to fall off the network…"

"Look – frankly I don't give a damn what they're telling you," the commander cut the junior officer off before he could finish, "We've now got a full carrier force stuck on the other side, with _Kiir Sjet_ no less! Tell them that unless they want to answer personally to Lady Sjet herself…"

The loud ping of the sensors console rang crisply through the carrier's bridge, preventing the incensed commanding officer from continuing further.

"Report!"

"Massive energy spike from the gate node," the officer in charge answered quickly, "Quantum waveform readings off the scale – I think it's…"

For a brief moment there was a brilliant flash of blue that temporarily scrambled the sensor arrays of every Hiigaran fleet asset in the vicinity. The flash was so bright and sudden that even the viewscreens' adaptive dimming were unable to keep up, forcing the bridge crews to shield their eyes from the glare. And then the explosion of light faded to reveal the restored hyperspace portal within the gate node, shimmering with varying shades of blue.

"Gate node is open, quantum waveform readings are stable!"

"What are you waiting for – reestablish contact with _Exile_!" the commander demanded as he moved quickly towards his own console to open a fleet-wide broadcast channel, "All ships, stand by for entry into the jump event and prepare to commence immediate rescue…"

The Hiigaran officer trailed off as his eyes followed the gaze of the rest of the bridge crew – all focused on the gate node as the portal flared with energy and spat out a ship of unmistakable design…

"Is that…"

"One hundred percent match with databases – it's a Progenitor Keeper," the sensors officer had gone pale at the sensor reports, remembering the nightmarish stories of these bringers of death.

And then the klaxons began wailing throughout the bridge as automatic response systems kicked into high gear, reminding the Hiigaran crews to do the same.

"They have weapons locks on us!"

"Picking up energy spikes!"

A crimson beam of electrified energy connected the Keeper to the carrier, then to the carrier's flanking destroyers, then the escorting frigates as it leapt tirelessly from ship to ship.

"What in Sajuuk's name was…"

For the third and final time the commander was interrupted when his console took on an eerie shade of red and _leapt _up at him, the panels exploding to reveal menacing crimson tendrils that drove hungrily into his open mouth. There was a muffled cry accompanied by choking gasps as the organism shoved its way into the hapless Hiigaran's innards, the rest of the bridge crew watching in stunned shock as their CO's torso bloated so quickly as to rapidly burst the buttons off his Navy uniform. And then he exploded in a mess of muscle and bone, all the bits and shreds pulsating under the organism's influence.

Then all of them the same.

As the carrier and its escorts began listing, as the dreaded crimson ooze took shape across the magnificent Angel Moon emblazoned across the ships' hulls, ion beams and Arbiter projectiles quickly lashed out from the other Hiigaran task forces towards the Progenitor ship.

The Keeper remained motionless – simply raising its energy shielding to absorb the brunt of the barrage. And then the shots scattered as the Hiigaran ships began tracking new targets: Keepers and other Progenitor capital ships, infected Tradeships and Super Acolytes…

* * *

This time it was definite: a cry for help, but much closer to home in comparison with the distant echo she had seemed to sense earlier. Mental reflexes kicked in and a connection quickly established, bypassing the _Sajuuk_'s bridge altogether.

"_This is Fleet Command."_

"_Fleet Comm… Lady Sjet?"_ the voice sounded incredulous at first, the emotion then quickly giving way to near hysteria, _"Thank the Maker we got through to you! Something's come through the gate!"_

"_The gate?"_ she frowned as the relevant database articles brought her up to speed, _"Gate Node 112A?"_

"… _we don't have much time, they're tearing us to pieces out here,"_ the voice was calming down now, as though the person on the other side were resigning himself to his inevitable fate after witnessing the calamity unfold, _"Transmitting whatever I can with this bandwidth…"_

Data feeds, struggling with the limited bandwidth of the long range channel, barely managed to make the connections with her mind. Error-correcting algorithms quickly kicked in, alleviating the problem and opening her eyes…

A scene out of a Nightmare from Hell: a sizeable force of Progenitor ships, flanked on either side with multiple Bentusi tradeships, their golden hulls pulsating with the familiar red biomass. The invaders were simply waltzing through the carriers and ships that made up the stationary defences of the gate node – infecting anything within range, and finishing off stragglers with well-placed ion or phased cannon shots.

"_Get out of there!"_ the order went out –already too late. Damage reports began filtering in through the data feeds and directly into her mind: hull breaches, loss of system control…

"… _too late for us Milady,"_ the voice was choking with the finality of the moment, _"They won't take us! Not now, not ever!"_

The final notification of a self-destruct slammed into her senses as the connection ended.

_No. This… this can't be…_

_Spare us the dramatics,_ a new voice echoed through her mind, the sudden mental contact taking her entirely by surprise. She turned around in her mindscape, barely making out a dim silhouette on the very fringe of her being.

_What… are you?_

The entity seemed to chuckle, as though amused by her response, _Simple-minded for Unbound persona. We have come to take what is rightfully ours…_

This time an image accompanied the mental message, a single glimpse of which sent cold quivers down her spine as she realised just who it was they were now dealing with.

_No,_ Karan answered in as calm a voice she could muster,_ You cannot have the _Sajuuk_._

_Have it your way then._

And then she felt a forceful wave of mental energy flood through the connection and crash into her psychic boundaries. The sensation was familiar – akin to during their final jump to Hiigara, when the Emperor had nearly killed her with a similar assault. Since then she had made preparations, engaged in mental training for a repeat incident such as this.

But this attack was something else altogether.

For a few fleeting seconds her mental defences held – then they gave way like collapsing dams, letting the assault surge through and engulf her mind, vanquishing her thoughts, tearing at her very psyche…

_So this is how it ends,_ Karan managed one final thought before it too was washed away by the oncoming tide. As the darkness washed over her, as she sank to her drowning death and her vision faded, she glimpsed a glimmering robed figure in the distance.

_Not yet, Sajuuk Khar,_ a new voice echoed faintly from the figure, _Not yet…_

* * *

"Lifesigns critical!" the ensign yelled as he watched the readings dip perilously, "She's not responding to queries!"

"It's an attack – lock down all systems!"

"They… they just did, just this second…" the officer in charge replied with trepidation after witnessing what seemed to be the ship's systems taking matters into their own hands and executing the tasks without any input or commands on his part.

"We'll figure that out later," Ferinas Manaan snapped as she grabbed her kit and ran for the doors, "Med teams One and Two, with me!"

"Be careful," another officer yelled out to her, "We've lost Trinity – hyperspace interrupt imminent!"

As if on cue, a mighty groan rumbled through the godship's superstructure as quantum forces tugged on it in every direction. Then gravitational forces took hold and yanked the Super Dreadnaught unceremoniously out of hyperspace, the quantum wavefront shimmering away into nothingness behind the now-disabled ship.

* * *

"Issue an immediate scramble alert to everything we've got here," General Qwaar's order was simple and straightforward, "That the _Sajuuk_ misjumped is by no means a good omen – but that it exited hyperspace right here in Tanis is nothing short of miraculous."

"_Affirmative sir. Tanis Control out."_

"Status on launch sequence?" Qwaar demanded.

"Docking clamps released – we are away," came the reply from the helm.

_Hang in there Lady Sjet,_ the Somtaaw general quietly prayed before turning back to his trusty helm officer, "All power to main drives! _Paaura_ is go!"

The massive drives of the Explorer III class vessel lit up as they began pushing the Somtaaw command ship from the station, its twin siege cannons on either side already beginning pre-fire sequences in preparation for the unexpected.

* * *

"Good job with the salvage efforts Idus," Soban nodded approvingly as he studied the external cam views: the strange Fourth Core was now quite securely adhered to the Dreadnaught's belly with a series of space-titanium alloy cables, "When this is all over… I'll see to it that you and your boys get a good chunk of shore leave."

"_If we survive long enough for that,"_ the chief engineer chuckled morbidly as he cut the channel to lead his team with the rest of the hyperdrive repairs.

"Somtaaw humour," Sora rolled his eyes at the comment as he finished the final astronavigational calculations for the possible hyperspace jump routes they could take, "I'm done Captain – all that's left is for Engineering to finish the hyperdrive repairs."

"Nice to have good news for a change," Soban was finally able to smile a little, "Eliir – how's long range comms coming along?"

"You will be pleased to hear that I'll be continuing this trend," the Sjet sensors officer answered cheerily, "Since Idus was unable to do anything with the main array, which needs a proper replacement, I've been able to reconfigure part of the sensor array to function as an ad hoc long range receiver at least."

"Good. When can we expect results?"

"Just about… now," Eliir replied as she tapped in the final command, "Accessing friendly frequencies…"

For several long seconds there was an anticipatory silence while Eliir continued to work, checking the primary broadcast channels of the Hiigaran Navy for updates. Hopefully they would stumble across a nearby fleet this way and jump to within hailing range for the engineering assistance they required.

"Well?"

"Something is happening, something major," Eliir noted curiously as she quickly browsed through the various communiqués racing back and forth across the communication highways, "Massive redeployments taking place everywhere – Command is in the process of recalling just about every fleet asset from the frontier regions."

"But why?" Soban asked cautiously, dozens of guesses running through his mind, "Is it a Raider incursion? A Vaygr attack?"

"Neither – but from the looks of it Command is spooked sufficiently to even recall the Fifteenth task force watching the Vaygr border," came the reply, "They are all redeploying just south of Karos, in the Shining Hinterlands."

"A buffer zone to Hiigara's south," the captain commented as it all began falling into place.

"But... there's no way for anything to be coming through the Southern Wall," Sora interjected, referring to the impassable gravitational barrier to the galaxy's south that prevented any form of hyperspace travel to the unexplored Southern Fringe, "And just about everything between the Wall and the Homeworld is either neutral, or allied with Hiigara."

"True, but an invader has to come from somewhere," Soban replied, "And if not from the Southern Fringe then where else? Now I don't claim to know how such a force would even make it through the Southern Wall..."

"Not if they did not need to in the first place," Aalcor chipped in suddenly as he transferred the contents of his console to the main viewscreen so that everyone could see what he was getting at – a galactic map overlaid with the various gate nodes of the _Eye of Aaraan_ network.

"This is mere speculation on my part, but on valid grounds," the Manaani officer mentioned his disclaimer first before continuing, "Command deployed a sizeable force of ships to one of the gate nodes in particular – 112A. I do not claim to know for what purpose that was for..."

"It was for an exploration expedition," Soban filled in the blanks for his brilliant tactical officer, "Admiral Eefrit did mention this to me in passing: that 112A had been flagged as an extragalactic gate node..."

It was then that the eeriest of possibilities hit everyone smack in the head.

"... I don't like where this conversation is heading," Sora mentioned uncomfortably as he turned around and tried to busy himself at his console.

"Understandably logical," Aalcor nodded solemnly, "Sir, I was about to suggest that Vaygr forces were rerouting through the southern approach via the gate network; but with your mentioning of its extragalactic nature..."

"I'm not sure I want to know," came the muted response from Soban.

* * *

"Has this been confirmed beyond a doubt," Eefrit's voice had dropped to a deep ominous tone.

"_Yes sir, in fact we have already initiated total recall of all available fleet assets,"_ the duty officer added, _"Unless of course you wish to negate that..."_

"Not at all – it is all according to the emergency protocols," the admiral agreed, "We will commence redeployment the moment we are done here."

"_Sajuuk protect you sir. Command out."_

As the channel closed the admiral leant back in his seat, trying his best to wrap around the new reports that had just been provided to him. It was nearly a full ten seconds before he was able to snap his attention back to the battle at hand.

"Report."

"All infected ships have been neutralised with minimal losses, and we are commencing mop up operations against the remainder of the Raider ships," Yuno answered, her voice also laced with worry after listening to what Command had to say, "If it is any comfort at least it seems we will not need to be dealing with any reinforcements after all..."

Yuno trailed off as the _Legacy_'s sensor array picked up a change in the situation, "... _Bravo II_ has just raised inhibitor fields admiral."

"A definite conclusion regarding the absence of reinforcements then," Eefrit noted with a mix of both relief and worry, "However it means we will be unable to jump out unless we take it out. Have you ascertained whether the station is infection beam capable?"

"I have been running multiple sensor sweeps over its superstructure and I can say with a ninety percent probability that it is not infection capable," the hologram replied as she gestured towards the main display, which immediately updated with the relevant scan results, "Perhaps if we are to exercise caution we could engage from long range via torpedo and ion assault frigates."

"Agreed," Eefrit acknowledged as he gestured towards the various commanding officers to commit to the necessary tasks.

The orders went out and the _Legacy_'s complement of Abyss class torpedo frigates immediately proceeded into formation alongside the ion assault frigates, the latter ships already manoeuvring into their broadside firing positions. As the attack force continued with their preparations the remainder of the fleet got to work to keep the Raiders at bay: the remaining destroyers and ion frigates pounding away at the Assassin IVs while the battlecruiser trio finished off the surviving Raider carrier with a well-placed salvo from their heavy ion turrets.

"Gehenna and Abyss squadrons in position, commencing long range bombardment!"

Almost instantly the torpedo frigates launched off their anti capital ship torpedoes, the ion assault frigates following up immediately with their own salvos of long range ion beams. Once again the energy beams leapt across the incredible distance and sizzled against the infected station's hull, melting away layers of its outer armour. Then the torpedoes caught up and shattered against the station in a multitude of blossoming explosions, ripping even larger chunks of metal and writhing biomass off the victim.

"Picking up biosign fluctuations from _Bravo II_," Yuno reported, "We have wounded the Devourer."

"As much as I want to keep it alive long enough for the techs to determine how the Raiders are controlling it..." Eefrit trailed off as he pondered the option for a moment, "... Nay, we have little time. Continue with..."

"Wait," Yuno's eyes widened with surprise at the new development that had just hit the circuits, "I don't believe this sir: the organism is hailing us!"

"What?"

"I'm not sure... it seems to be desperate and even terrified in its attempts to make contact," Yuno added as she began archiving the hailing data for future study, "This behaviour is unprecedented, considering even the Beast of old did no such thing according to the databases..."

"Must be some kind of subtle trickery afoot," Eefrit growled sceptically.

"So do we..."

"Let us see what it has to say," Eefrit nodded with a slight smirk, "Perhaps all these years of evolution and mutation may have made it smarter. All ships suspend fire on _Bravo II_ for the duration! Yuno, go ahead."

"Patching through..." Yuno trailed off as she made the connection, giving rise to a unnervingly low buzz emanating from the bridge speakers. And then the ominous multiple voices of the Beast, like some twisted parody of Bentusi audio transmissions, echoed through the bridge to send shivers down the spines of every Hiigaran present.

"_... cease your attacks Hiigaran Parts! If our hyperspace shield falls then all Parts will be taken by the Self!"_

"A lame lie," Eefrit commented, slightly disappointed by the organism's miserable attempt at persuasion, "Resume bombardment and cut the..."

"_... no you do not understand! The Self is all-powerful and will take..."_

The cacophony of voices ended abruptly, bringing considerable relief to the chilled officers on the bridge.

"Connection terminated sir," Yuno muttered, glad that she didn't have to go through the ordeal of listening any longer than necessary.

"Any signs of software breaches?"

"None whatsoever – I primed all system firewalls in expectation of a hacking attempt over the connection," Yuno responded, "They made no such attempt for the duration."

"Good – resume the bombardment."

A second shower of ion beams rained down upon _Bravo II_ from afar, followed by another wave of torpedoes. Another series of explosions rocked the splintering station, which now began to list and vent atmosphere from the near-catastrophic damage caused.

"Inhibitor field is down!" Yuno announced triumphantly, "All hyperdrive systems returning to nominal functionality!"

"Then let us cut off the head of this Beast once and for all," declared Eefrit, "Target the main reactor and..."

"Priority alert," Yuno interrupted the eager admiral, her holographic self seeming to fade slightly to a paler shade of colour, "Progenitor hyperspace signature detected behind _Bravo II_..."

As Yuno spoke the words, a yellow hyperspace window opened behind the listing station, sliding back to reveal the familiar outline of a Progenitor Keeper. As the window closed the ship seemed to spend several moments studying the infected station before it, contemplating its next move.

What happened next took everyone entirely by surprise – the crimson arc of an infection beam suddenly linked the Keeper to the station. As the stream of charged particles faded an initial nausea descended upon every person on the _Legacy_'s bridge – the thought of a dangerous Keeper-Destroyer falling to the Devourer was just too horrific to comprehend. Only after the initial surprise died down did the realisation set in: that it was the Keeper that had fired the beam.

_They hear nothing once the channels are muted. But for myself..._

Yuno tried her best to close her consciousness completely to the audio streams – a futile effort because the combat situation required her to extensively interface with all of the Mothership's internal systems. She had once believed that there was nothing in the known galaxy that could possibly top the aural horror of a ship in the undying grip of the Devourer.

She was wrong.

The unholy multitude of voices that represented the twisted psyche of the creature wailed and hollered as a new strain began taking over forcibly. As the new layer of biomass began spreading and tearing its tendrils into the established infection the chorus seemed to splinter some more, growing louder and louder until it peaked as a desperate insanity of disembodied voices screaming for mercy.

_My... god..._

And then as suddenly as it had begun, the shrieking banshees faded into a welcome silence.

"You okay, Yuno?" Eefrit's voice filtered in through to her, the admiral having noticed her holographic avatar suddenly freezing in position as the infection progressed.

"... I am fine sir," Yuno answered in a slightly shaky tone of voice, "... did you hear..."

"The channels were muted, and for that I think we are all grateful," Eefrit stated plainly. He didn't know what else he could say to her – he didn't even know what things were like to her in the virtual realm.

"... admiral, we need to go now..." the Manaani's struggle to recollect herself was clearly audible in her words, "... we have multiple inbounds..."

Eefrit nearly sprang up at the revelation, "By all means, begin pre-jump preparations now!"

The rest of the bridge officers needed no official order – already they were issuing the emergency recall orders to the rest of the fleet.

* * *

"_... emergency recall is in effect. Fall back Delta squadron, fall back..."_

"Easy for you to say..." Luca growled as he jiggled the flight stick, trying his best to shake a particularly stubborn Bandit off his tail. Another stream of high speed projectiles blazed dangerously past his cockpit window, reminding him that he was still not in the clear.

"_Got your back Delta Five,"_ the welcome voice of one of his squad mates echoed through. Moments later the warbling warnings of the onboard computer ceased as the Raider interceptor shattered from the force of a pulsar blast.

"Thanks for the help Delta Three," Luca responded as he swung the Acolyte III around and went to full burn, racing towards the safety of the _Legacy_'s docking bays. The fighter's sensor suite was already starting to ping crazily, indicating the arrival of a good number of new contacts from hyperspace.

"FUCK," the pilot swore out loud when the collision alarms suddenly rang and a blaze of yellow light appeared before him – he was scarcely able to bank away from the ion beam that had seemingly appeared from nowhere, "The Hell was THAT?"

"_EVADE!"_ Delta Leader's voice hollered through the channel, _"WE'VE GOT BLOODY SUPER ACOS EVERYWHERE EVADE EVADE!"_

_This is going to Hell real fast,_ Luca thought as he switched the ship to evasive parameters and dumped all power to the engines. The Acolyte III responded and jerked forward as its fusion drives shifted into high gear.

* * *

"Martyrs of Kharak," Eefrit uttered at the awful sight, "Infected Bentusi?"

"... pre-jump preparations halted," Yuno added suddenly, "The Keeper has activated its inhibitor field. We are trapped!"

"Defensive formations!" Eefrit snapped after a quick glance at the tactical overlay, which was essentially screaming 'You're Screwed' in his face – two infected Bentusi tradeships had just jumped in-system and were advancing steadily with the Keeper at the tip of the delta formation. Making matters worse was the fact that the tradeships had brought along full complements of the things the Somtaaw didn't wish to be on the receiving end of ever again: the deadly Super Acolytes. Already the nimble fighters were tearing through their ships with disturbing ease, their twin ion beams making short work of even frigate armour.

"Long range bombardment on the Keeper! Fleet, fighting retreat at flank speed and maximum range!"

The ion assault frigates opened fire once again, their turrets sending focused ion beams streaking towards the target. When the beams connected there was a momentary flash of vermilion as the Progenitor ship activated its energy shielding, dissipating the ionic impacts harmlessly with its protective barrier.

"Keeper has activated shielding," Yuno warned, "Weapons are having minimal effect – initiating scans for the shield energy frequency..."

Then an ominous red glow heralded the second firing of the infection beam, the energised particle stream touching a destroyer trying to get away and then leapfrogging to several neighbouring ships. Screams cut through all frequencies as the captains desperately initiated the Naar Directive, causing explosions of drive plasma to erupt all around the affected sections of their vessels. Sadly this was a temporary respite at best: taking advantage of their crippled situation the Super Acolytes wasted no time swooping in for the kill, letting loose their ion beams into the gutted hull sections and easily ripping the capital ships in two.

"We've lost _Perdition_ and half the Firelance squadron!" a yell came from somewhere on the frantic bridge.

"Yuno, how much longer?" Eefrit asked urgently, knowing full well that their chances of survival were next to nil as long as the Keeper remained in action.

"I'm trying!" came the desperate reply as the computerised researcher worked harder, "Incoming Super Acolyte squadron: brace for impact!"

Pulsar turrets emerged from their cocoons all over the Mothership and began blasting away at the approaching fighters. Explosions began lighting up the immediate vicinity of the _Legacy_ as some of the incoming Bentusi craft were shot down. And then the surviving fighters retaliated, sending yellow ion beams at the massive target and gouging trenches across the _Legacy_'s armoured hull.

"Minor outer hull damage, repairs underway. Gunship squadrons are moving to intercept..."

Eefrit didn't reply – his eyes were fixed on the tactical overlay, watching as the Keeper continued to gain on them despite their retreat, preparing its infection weapon for yet another subversion shot...

"... I have it!" Yuno exclaimed suddenly, "Transmitting recalibration data to the fleet!"

A fresh wave of energy seemed to wash over the fleet when the various captains received the new data. Wasting no time, the capital ships within range quickly recalibrated their weapons and fired again, sending a veritable wall of ion beams blazing towards the Keeper. This time the energy blasts passed through the Progenitor shielding harmlessly, cutting deep into the ship's hull at the point indicated to be a critical area by research on Progenitor technology. The Keeper listed slightly and its barrier disappeared, secondary explosions blowing its reinforced hull to pieces before the ship itself became a flaming inferno of plasma.

"YES!" Eefrit let out a triumphant cry of delight on seeing the explosion.

"Hyperspace capabilities restored!" Yuno announced, "Sir, do we resume emergency jump procedures?"

"Yes, resume imm..." Eefrit trailed off as he glanced at the crimson-black tradeships, the sight suddenly triggering his memory of an audio record he had heard during his time in the Academy...

_... The Devourer does not kill us when it tries to take our ships. It leaves us in place, but corrupts our being. We die, but we are not dead. We would be trapped, slaves in our own bodies, eternally..._

"... Sir?" Yuno asked again on seeing the admiral stare blankly at the approaching tradeships, "Admiral?"

"No," Eefrit said plainly, "We will not jump."

"But... why?" Yuno was incredulous at the sudden change of heart, "While it is plausible that we could emerge victorious it would be at considerable cost to our own ships!"

"True... but consider this: do you think you could bear with the guilt of running and leaving them be?"

"You know that if we stay and fight on the loss in life would be unimaginable..."

"Unimaginable?" Eefrit made a forced smile as he made the mental comparisons, "They gave their _existence_ for us. What more is there to say?"

"But..." Yuno tried to argue otherwise but the words wouldn't come. She too suddenly thought back to her time onboard the _Pride of Hiigara_ as a member of the Advanced Research Module team. She had been on the bridge at that fateful moment, discussing possible countermeasures for the Keeper phase-outs with the other Intel officers. Their final words would probably be seared in her mind for all eternity...

_... Our time has ended. _Sajuuk_ awaits beyond the Gate of Balcora. The Dreadnaught will open the way. There you must end what has begun. You must take our Core and unite the Three. This is our legacy to you. Farewell..._

When she opened her eyes again all the bridge officers were looking at Eefrit, nodding silently and signalling their agreement with his plan. It was then that she realised the startling familiarity of some of the faces, something she hadn't noticed outright due to the urgency with which the _Legacy_ had begun operations. And then she recalled that the First Fleet had been named as such because it comprised officers, pilots, and workers who had been on the _Pride of Hiigara_ and her escorting fleet during the desperate times of the Vaygr invasion. No doubt that it was upon these very souls that the Bentusi sacrifice had left their deepest imprints.

_And to think that I should forget so easily - even in my current form where memory should be of no issue..._ Yuno chuckled sadly at herself. Emerging from the ocean of thoughts criss-crossing her consciousness, she observed the admiral looking patiently at her.

"Well?"

"... Thank you sir," Yuno spoke up finally, a humble soberness underlying her voice, "Thank you for reminding me of that which I have nearly forgotten."

"Huh?" it was Eefrit's turn now to be taken by surprise – he wasn't entirely sure for what it was that Yuno was now thanking him for, "What do you..."

"Never mind that," Yuno dismissed quickly, "All systems tracking and engaged sir: the Fleet has signalled its readiness."

"Well then," Eefrit began as he turned back to face the infected tradeships looming menacingly on the viewscreens, "Let us set them free."


End file.
